Post navigation

Turquoise Thursday: Turquoise in Alberta’s Jasper National Park

When people think of Alberta, Canada they automatically think of Banff National Park. As beautiful as Banff is, nothing beats the turquoise treasures found beyond Alberta’s beloved Banff. I spent about three weeks in Alberta in 2009 and nothing tops what I saw on my way to Jasper and in Jasper National Park. The views were out of this world. Less touristy than Banff, Jasper offers visitors a more rustic and authentic mountain experience in the Northern part of Alberta. The quiet picturesque park offered me everything I could have imagined: glacier lakes, ice caves, snow-capped mountain tops, animal sightings, and nature in its purest form.

With few people around, I felt like I had the whole park to myself. Coming from the East Coast of Canada I hadn’t seen anything like it before. Jasper left me speechless on many accounts and not because of its frigid weather, but because of its vast panoramic sights. Visiting the Canadian Rockies truly was a dream come true. I still consider my trip to Alberta one of my most memorable trips. As much as I love the beach, nothing compares to visiting such vast wilderness. It is then when you realize how small you are in such a grand world. I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit one of Canada’s largest and oldest National Parks.

Alberta has so much to offer, from desert-like conditions and dinosaurs in Drumheller, the largest shopping mall in Canada in Edmonton, the Stampede in Calgary, to glacier lakes and ice caves in Jasper, Alberta has it all. Among the sights, Jasper is still my favourite. With Jasper’s nearly 1000km of trails, I was left bewildered and perplexed to wander in a place few people get to see. I still remember vividly dipping my toes in a glacier lake, walking around in an ice cave, and touching the remains of a glacier for the first time. A moment engrained in my memory.

I can’t wait to go back and explore more of what Jasper has to offer. I don’t know when I will make it back to Jasper, but I know that I will eventually. I’m sure I will be just as amazed the second time as I was the first. There is something to be said about visiting a destination more than once.

It really truly is! I was left speech less time and time again when I was in Alberta, but nothing compares to how I was feeling when we were driving to Jasper and when we finally arrived. You need to put this destination on your bucket list my friend, you won’t regret it.
-Jessica

It is one sight to see. Who would have thought there is turquoise water like that in Canada? I know I was even surprised as a Canadian when I went there. Pictures don’t even do justice do this splendid place! You need to add this place to your bucket list see destinations. Let me know when you go!

Well, hopefully New Zealand will be another destination I’ll stop at (in the North so I can see the beaches). There are just so many places to choose from. When were you there Mr. Travel Pants? You’ve been everywhere I want to go it seems!

I was there about five years ago. We went to the North and South Islands. Before I stopped working I had a goal and that was to travel every opportunity that presented itself. There are still a lot of places to visit.

As an Alberta woman, I’m thrilled you got a chance to get out here. Please come again! There’s the north and the deep south that await you. In the Rockies, a fantastic drive is from Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff NP on the David Thompson Highway. You’ll eventually pop out along Highway 2 if you keep going that far. It’s a lonely drive but majestic up to Rocky Mountain House. Not to say it’s bad past there! You get to drive through farmland that’s especially beautiful in the evening sunlight in the summer.

p.s. small bit… you mean “desert”, right? 😀 There are even rattlers in that part of the province! There’s another fantastic drive – the east border of the province from Oyen south through the coulees to Medicine Hat. I was stunned at the scenery!

Yes, I’ve only been to Alberta once for a couple weeks (2009), but I hope to go again soon. I haven’t written much about Alberta (I barely have the time to write about the experiences I am having currently and over the last 12 months), but there was so much I did in Alberta. I am looking forward to adding those experiences to my blog soon (i.e. Rockies, Banff, Jasper, Drumheller, Calgary, Canmore, etc..). The drive from Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff NP on the David Thompson Highway sounds amazing. The drives all sound amazing. I want to see rattles…but only from a distance!
Thanks for the tips,
Jessica, Turquoise Compass